Julio M. Barros

From a humble kitchen blender to the vast galactic disks, rotating turbulent flows exhibit remarkable diversity. They are also replete with puzzling features. A notable example is the energy spectrum of a widely studied rotating flow—the turbulent Taylor-Couette (TC) flow. Previous studies have shown that, unlike other canonical turbulent flows, it does not obey Kolmogorov’s universal power law or any other power law. Here, we report measurements of the energy spectra in turbulent TC flow from unique “flying-wire” experiments where a rotating probe sweeps through the flow. In contrast with previous studies, which focused primarily on spectral power laws, we analyze spectral data collapse. Through this broader approach, we show that, contrary to the prevailing understanding, the spectral structure of small scales in turbulent TC flow is in excellent accord with the potent paradigm of Kolmogorov’s small-scale universality.

Algal biofilms, ubiquitous in aquatic systems, reduce the performance of engineered systems and alter ecosystem processes. Biofilm morphology is dynamic throughout community development, with patchiness occurring due to periodic sloughing, but little is known about how community level physical structure affects hydrodynamics. This study uses high resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV) to examine spatially explicit turbulence over sparse, uniform and patchy biofilm at turbulent Reynolds numbers. All biofilms increase the near-bed turbulence production, Reynolds shear stress, and rotational flow compared to a smooth wall, and non-uniform biofilms have the greatest increase in these parameters, compared with a uniform or sparse biofilm. However, a higher drag coefficient over uniform biofilm compared with non-uniform biofilm indicates that percent coverage (the amount of area covered by the biofilm) is a useful predictor of a biofilm’s relative effect on the total drag along surfaces, and in particular the effect on ship performance.

The structural attributes of turbulent flow over a complex roughness topography are explored using high-frame-rate stereo particle-image velocimetry measurements in the wall-normal–spanwise plane. The roughness under consideration was replicated from a turbine blade damaged by deposition of foreign materials and contains a broad range of topographical scales arranged in a highly irregular manner. Previous results from Barros and Christensen [Observations of turbulent secondary flows in a rough-wall boundary layer. J Fluid Mech. 2014;748] revealed strong spanwise heterogeneity in the flow attributed to the formation of roughness-induced turbulent secondary flows identified by spanwise-alternating low- and high-momentum flow pathways (HMP & LMP, respectively) in the mean flow marked by enhanced Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy. Frequency spectra of streamwise velocity at fixed wall-normal location presented herein also display strong dependence on spanwise position. In particular, the roughness promotes enhanced energy content of the large-scale and smaller-scale motions (as opposed to very-large-scale ones). Depending on spanwise position, pre-multiplied spectra highlight significant modification of the energy content of the very large-scale motions (superstructures) due to roughness compared to smooth-wall flow. Of note, a shift in both TKE and RSS content to shorter streamwise scales at an LMP was noted, while less of an impact was found coincident with an HMP.

Biofilm fouling significantly impacts ship performance. Here, the impact of biofilm on boundary layer structure at a ship-relevant, low Reynolds number was investigated. Boundary layer measurements were performed over slime-fouled plates using high resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV). The velocity profile over the biofilm showed a downward shift in the log-law region (ΔU⁺), resulting in an effective roughness height (k_s) of 8.8 mm, significantly larger than the physical thickness of the biofilm (1.7 ± 0.5 mm) and generating more than three times as much frictional drag as the smooth-wall. The skin-friction coefficient, C_f, of the biofilm was 9.0 × 10⁻³ compared with 2.9 × 10⁻³ for the smooth wall. The biofilm also enhances turbulent kinetic energy (tke) and Reynolds shear stress, which are more heterogeneous in the streamwise direction than smooth-wall flows. This suggests that biofilms increase drag due to high levels of momentum transport, likely resulting from protruding streamers and surface compliance.

We study the dynamics of turbulent boundary layer flow over a heterogeneous topography composed of roughness patches exhibiting relatively high and low correlation in the streamwise and spanwise directions, respectively (i.e. the roughness appears as streamwise-aligned ‘strips’). It has been reported that such roughness induces a spanwise-wall normal mean secondary flow in the form of mean streamwise vorticity associated with counter-rotating boundary-layer-scale circulations. Here, we demonstrate that this mean secondary flow is Prandtl’s secondary flow of the second kind, both driven and sustained by spatial gradients in the Reynolds-stress components, which cause a subsequent imbalance between production and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy that necessitates secondary advective velocities. In reaching this conclusion, we study (i) secondary circulations due to spatial gradients of turbulent kinetic energy, and (ii) the production budgets of mean streamwise vorticity by gradients of the Reynolds stresses. We attribute the secondary flow phenomena to extreme peaks of surface stress on the relatively high-roughness regions and associated elevated turbulence production in the fluid immediately above. An optimized state is attained by entrainment of fluid exhibiting the lowest turbulent stresses – from above – and subsequent lateral ejection in order to preserve conservation of mass.